What’s Rich, Really?

I think about this a lot. People talk about being rich like it’s a destination, like it’s a number you hit or a lifestyle you earn. A certain paycheck. A certain kind of freedom. A certain version of “made it.”

I’ve learned that money stops feeling powerful once you realize it doesn’t touch the parts of you that actually hurt. I’ve had comfort and still felt empty. I’ve had security and still felt restless. I’ve had choice and still felt lost. Money can make life easier, but it can’t give your life meaning.

So when I think about being rich now, I think about something entirely different. What feels rich to me is the fact that I have the luxury to help someone meet the most basic needs of life. Food. Stability. Support. Safety. The fact that I can help give someone a chance—sometimes just a small one—at something better is fucking awesome.

Not in a savior way. Not in a “look at me” way. In a deeply human way. Because I’ve been on the other side of that. I know what it feels like to be surviving instead of living. When you’re in that place, you’re not dreaming about success or abundance. You’re just trying to get through the day.

Being able to show up for someone in that space changes you. It shifts what you value. It makes you realize how much power there is in presence, in support, in being someone who helps steady the ground beneath another person’s feet.

I don’t feel rich because of what I own. I feel rich because I get to use my life, my energy, my resources for something that actually matters. I feel rich because helping others doesn’t drain me anymore—it fulfills me. It reminds me why I’m here.

Success, to me, isn’t excess. It’s impact. It’s purpose. It’s knowing that something I did made someone else’s life even a little bit easier.

If you’ve ever felt that shift—where the things you thought you wanted stopped mattering the way you expected, and something quieter but deeper took their place—you’re not alone. Sometimes becoming rich has nothing to do with money.

Sometimes it’s realizing that you get to help someone live. And honestly, that’s the richest I’ve ever felt.